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Zombies
Zombies, also referred to in-universe as walkers, monsters, geeks, lurkers and muertos, are the eponymous non-human main antagonistic force that serve as the primary catalyst for the events within The Walking Dead X Call of Duty Zombies universe. They serve as universal antagonists. Etymology & Definition Etymology The English word "zombie" is first recorded in 1819, in a history of Brazil by the poet Robert Southey, in the form of "zombi." The Oxford English Dictionary gives the origin of the word as West African, and compares it to the Kongo words "nzambi" (god) and "zumbi" (fetish). For more details, read Zombie on Wikipedia. Definition Zombie: The reanimated corpse of a human being that has regained limited function and mobility, as well as developed an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Overview Reanimated human beings, while not immortal, will not "die" under typical conditions that would ordinarily cause the death of a living person. They do not appear to feel or respond to pain, can survive even the most brutal injuries, and despite their bottomless appetite for flesh, they do not need food, water, or sleep to survive. They show no other bodily function that relates to a human, showing no signs of self-healing or response to extreme temperatures. The brain maintains limited abilities of the body, allowing for movement of the limbs (provided that they are not decomposed to the point where the bones are not strong enough to bend without breaking), jaws, neck, and even the use of its sensory systems. While the walkers are notoriously weaker than humans, the only way to kill one is to destroy the brain. Despite severely weakened frames, they will continue to hunt for living animals to consume. Even when decapitated, the head will remain active, even though it would be practically harmless at such point. Nicknames While the term "zombie" does exist within The Walking Dead universe, it is seldom used. This is not the case for Call of Duty: Zombies as the term was widely used. The term "zombie" originated with the Haitian practice of voodoo and refers to a person who is reanimated as a slave in the thrall of another person. Those zombies are still clinically alive and can be restored, where the "walkers" of The Walking Dead are in fact dead, presumably not under any control, and cannot be restored. In Call of Duty Zombies, however, while the zombies are truly dead, they can still be somewhat controlled through the Aether by an entity within the M.P.D. The Walkers of "The Walking Dead" Zombies within The Walking Dead universe are Robert Kirkman's version of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead zombies. Zombies are relatively weak and unintelligent as individuals, but are dangerous in large numbers and in tight spaces. They are the main antagonists within the post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead. The vast majority of the human population (6.9 billion people as of 2010) has been wiped out by zombies, which at their peak, outnumbered humans 5,000 to 1. This leaves about 1,400,000 survivors left.Image Comics; The Walking Dead, Issue 10 As a species, Kirkman's zombies do not evolve and are permanently doomed to just deteriorate until there's nothing left but the skeleton. Pathogen Everyone in The Walking Dead universe somehow contracted the zombie pathogen that, for reasons and through means unknown, brings the recently deceased back to "life." It is unknown where the disease originated from nor is it known whether if it's a natural, a man-made disease or of supernatural origin. The exact taxonomy of the pathogen is also unknown. Curiously, the pathogen itself does not kill its hosts. Instead it remains dormant, likely within neural cells in the brain, leaving its host visibly and physically healthy. Only when the host dies, does the pathogen become active, infecting and reviving neural structures in the brain stem and certain parts of the cerebellum, turning a human into a zombie. A zombie is thus a condition a recently deceased host enters when the pathogen is in its active stage. Transmission The zombie pathogen seems to possess two separate, but parallel modes of infection: latent and fluid contact/bites/scratches. * Latent: In The Walking Dead universe, most, if not every, human being on the planet is believed to be infected by a dormant strain of the zombie pathogen. It is currently unknown how one contracts the dormant stage of the pathogen, though its apparent total infection rate worldwide suggests it is either air-borne, water-borne, or both. Once infected, the virus spreads throughout the body through the blood, likely concentrating in the central nervous system. However, so long as the host remains alive, the pathogen remains latent or dormant within them and is asymptomatic to the host. * Fluid Contact/Bites/Scratches: Though physical contact with a zombie's saliva or blood will not cause an individual fatal infection, any fluid contact with open wounds will lead to irreversible contamination of the individual. However, zombie bites are not fatal because of the dormant zombie pathogen. Rather, one possible explanation is that through bites, the active pathogen carried within zombies induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, further exacerbated by bacteria that reside in a zombie's mouth. Scratches could cause similar infections for similar reasons, however, no one in the comic or TV-show has ever gotten the fever as a result of a scratch. While zombie scratches and clawing rarely cause fatal infections, the deep gouges generally left by zombie bites are almost always fatal; death can be potentially avoided if the bite is on an appendage, which must be immediately amputated. However, this does not always work, and bites on the torso, or on veins or arteries are universally fatal. Even if an amputation proves successful at removing the infection, blood loss and subsequent infection is also extremely dangerous due to the generally unprofessional execution of the procedure. Dormant Stage As mentioned previously, during the dormant stage, the pathogen is asymptomatic. The host will thus remain healthy despite being technically 'infected' and will contain to remain so as long they are alive. After the host dies, the dormant pathogen enters the active stage and will begin the process of reanimating the body through the infection and reactivation of neural structures in the brain. No matter how an individual dies, unless their brain was severely damaged or destroyed, they will reanimate into a zombie following death. Active Stage The pathogen enters the active stage when an individual dies and is responsible for the host's reanimation as a zombie. When an individual is bitten by a zombie, the active pathogen is transmitted into them as well as a plethora of bacteria and other infectious agents that reside in a zombie's mouth. In the event that amputation fails or is not possible, it is believed that the active pathogen then induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, causing a high fever, aches, extreme fatigue, and nausea. As the infection progresses, the active pathogen invades and spreads through the brain like meningitis, infecting synapses and other neural structures that are concentrated in the brain stem and parts of the cerebellum. At the climax of the infection, the adrenal glands haemorrhage and the brain completely shuts down. All brain activity would cease, followed by the major organs and the body would be clinically dead: no measurable brain activity, no reflexes, and no respiration or pulse. The time between the onset of the symptoms and death, followed by reanimation is very dependent on the severity, location, and quantity of the bite wound(s) of individuals who cannot be saved. Those bitten experience the following symptoms as the infection progresses, ending in death: * Dizziness * Weakness and fatigue * Fever * Delirium/hallucinations * Chills * Nausea/vomiting * Pale skin * Diluted pupils * Soreness * Fluid discharge * Spontaneous aggression or anger * Fainting * Hair loss and missing scalp pieces * Dehydration * Coughing up Blood * Pale yellow sclera * Delirium * Internal haemorrhaging * Organ failure Reanimation The dead corpse of anyone that dies for any reason will reanimate as a zombie, unless the brain of the individual is badly damaged or destroyed, or the person was dead prior to the outbreak. When a person dies, the active pathogen they carry enters the active stage, and reactivates critical areas of the brain that it infected, specifically the brain stem and some parts of the cerebrum and cerebellum that support necessary vital systems such as movement, resulting in reanimation after a variable amount of time. Since the active pathogen only reactivates the brain stem and not parts of the brain such as the frontal lobe and neocortex that are responsible for higher-order brain functions, the reanimated person retains only a physical resemblance to their former self. A corpse can reanimate between three minutes and eight hours after death, though there are instances where reanimation seems to happen much quicker, even in seconds. Physiology Zombies have the ability to detect scents and can differentiate between the living and the dead; they prefer to feed on living flesh. Covering one's self in the scent of decay can act as a camouflage. They can also use sight to distinguish the living from the dead, although they seem to have poor eyesight as their irises fade and decay over time. They make up for this with heightened senses of hearing and smell. Darkness seems to have little effect on zombies' senses at close range, and in areas devoid of light they can still find their way around as they would in the day. Individual zombie strength depends on the physical makeup of the individual and on how long they have been reanimated. When attacking, zombies often become more lively, exhibiting full-body effort, and can produce enough force to quickly overwhelm an adult human. Zombies have been shown to be able to rip open human and animal victims with ease, and they can even rip off human limbs with enough force. As zombies decay, however, their muscles, and consequently, their entire body, becomes slowly, but surely, weaker. Zombies feel no pain. Although slow and seemingly unintelligent when not active, they can react quickly to sufficient stimulation, and can rapidly overpower a victim they have taken by surprise. Though their bodies are no more or less durable than a non-decomposed human body, they can absorb all manner of physical damage, even when badly decomposed. Anything other than a head attack, spinal cord severing, or dismemberment leaves them seemingly unfazed. As long as their brain remains intact, everything that is attached to the brain can continue to function as normal, even if only the skull remains and is severed from the body. Other than a mostly intact brain, zombies don't appear to require any vital systems or organ functions to survive, although their ambulatory functions do decrease as their level of decomposition increases. Sufficient physical damage can slow them down, or render them incapacitated. Compared to humans, zombies have rather limited mobility. Unstimulated, zombies stand still, or shuffle around slowly. When in this state they are sometimes referred to as "lurkers," as they can quickly activate, attack and kill. Zombies can also be found lying on the ground or in piles of other bodies, and can appear to be dead until stimulated. If they are pursuing a possible victim, zombies can move somewhat more quickly, roughly equivalent to a very light jogging pace. They can also lunge very short distances to grab close prey. They are difficult to shake off if they do manage to grab their victims, often allowing their arm to be ripped off before they will begin to let go. Behavior A reanimated body responds to stimuli such as light, scent, and loud noises. Oddly, even if the head is separated from the body, as long as the brain is intact, the head will still attempt to eat anything within reach. The body of a zombie does appear to be truly dead, which means that it does not feel pain, has no reflexes, and wounds to it will not heal; its rate of decomposition slows drastically but does continue. There is anecdotal evidence that some retain vestigial elements of memory and personality and this is shown some repeating behavior such as clinging to possessions, attempting to open doors, and even using large rocks to break through windows and doors.Season 1 Ep 2, Guts Zombies though, are incredibly unintelligent and generally unable to use tools or understand the need for them. It has been hinted at that newly reanimated corpses retain some basic sense of intellect and perhaps memory, and can perform very basic tasks such as opening doors. They have no sense of self-preservation other than eating, and will not react at all to the deaths of other zombies or to potentially lethal dangers to themselves. Zombies instinctively bite whatever prey they come in contact with, but have also been observed clawing at, tearing, and even punching humans and animals in order to topple them. Disposal Because a zombie is derived from a human form, it is limited physically by many of the same constraints that a human has. But because a zombie is, by definition, dead, it slowly rots and decays like other dead organisms. Over time, flesh and muscles deteriorate, and it becomes less and less formidable. They are only truly killed by destroying the brain, a common theme in many zombie variations. A severed head will remain animated and aggressive until the brain is destroyed or eventually disintegrates from decomposition. Fire has little effect on zombies, other than possibly angering them further, and normally lethal things such as acid or electricity also do little to impede them. They can be paralyzed if their spinal cords are severed, though this does not kill them, even if their heads are severed from the bodies. Intelligence Though zombies retain a physical resemblance to the living, cognitive similarities are almost non-existent beyond low-level functions, though there are examples of behavior that suggest zombies may retain small fragments of memory of their past lives. Zombies have enough intelligence to walk upright, to use their bodies to break objects, and to climb around or over somewhat small obstacles such as chain-link fences. Zombies can ascend and descend staircases, albeit very clumsily and slowly. They cannot generally operate doors or gates and only attempt to do so when they are relatively "fresh"; they tend to bash through obstacles rather than traversing them. Mostly, zombies are void of any emotional expression and thought. When stimulated, whether by noise, sight of prey, or simply encountering a problem they cannot solve, such as being unable to open a locked door, they quickly descend into a state of murderous aggression. If they spot prey when stimulated, they can pursue them ceaselessly, showing ravenous hunger. They are not hunters, however, and take no concern in alerting their victims or trying to hunt them with intelligence, always seeming to roar, grunt, and growl whenever they are stimulated. Zombies seem to be drawn to noise (such as that of a gunshot), presumably because they attribute the source of the noise to be caused by potential victims. They have however occasionally been shown to be able to catch their victims by surprise. Zombies also tend to form groups and stick together, and mimic the actions of other zombies, giving them a mob mentality. This can lead to zombies forming "herds," large hordes of zombies are far more dangerous and aggressive than smaller groups. Zombies retain a further animalistic trait within their "herds," appearing to "sniff out" or examine new-coming zombies before leaving them be, which may indicate that zombies seem to be able to familiarize themselves with their own kind and be cautious of ones they do not recognize. Newer zombies may rarely use primitive tools, such as using a heavy brick to smash a window, but none have any high-level abilities to use items in their environment. They lack any remaining speech capabilities, and can only moan, grunt, or wheeze, as well as roar and scream when alerted. Zombies are not shown to be able to "communicate" with other zombies by any means, though they will frequently copy the actions they witness other zombies perform, such as bashing on a door or moving in a group, eventually forming a herd. Robert Kirkman wrote on Reddit: ...In the beginning of the show we saw walkers do things like using a rock to help bash the doors in or turning a door knob, is there a reason we've stopped seeing them do that? "Older zombies are less together and capable or doing things like that. Fresher zombies, which there were more of in season one, are able to do more than older, more rotted zombies. Eating Habits Zombies prefer to eat anything dead or alive: animals and people. Zombies do not digest food. When their bodies are "full," the undigested meat will be forced out through the anus.Issue 111: Page 26; Letter Hacks. As zombies are dead, their bodies will continue to rot even if they are well-fed. Zombies are never shown in any media to exhibit cannibalistic tendencies, even after going through long periods without food, and only show interest in animals and living humans. If the zombie loses the ability to feed, they evidently lose the desire to do so—a behavior observed in Michonne's pet Walkers. With their loss of desire for eating also comes with a loss of aggression and activity; unless present around other zombies, those who have lost the will to eat will remain quiet and lethargic, mindlessly walking in any given direction and paying no mind to humans. The presence of many zombies being partially consumed or missing limbs also indicates that zombies, though they seem perpetually hungry, do not always devour prey fully, meaning that, at least for a short period of time, can feel "full" and not want to eat. Camouflage It's been discovered by survivors that there are ways for them to blend in with Zombies without being noticed. It's learned that when a person covers themselves in the scent of a Zombie or corpse, other zombies can't between them and one of their own. The first camouflage to be discovered was using the guts technique. By smearing parts of the body with zombie blood, they're able to come across zombies undetected. Unfortunately two problems with this technique .One problem is that the blood can easily dry up or be washed off, leaving you once again noticed by passing zombies. The second problem is that Zombies will attack regardless of scent if the user draws attention to themselves such as causing extremely loud noise or noticeably odd behavior for a zombie. This technique was first discovered by Rick and Glenn as they were walking through Atlanta. The second known technique are "Walker pets". By being in close proximity with a zombie without being bitten, the other zombies will instinctively assume the human is also a zombie. Although the user's close proximity with the zombie usually wards off the other zombies, they can still attract attention since they're still scent is still exposed. This technique was first discovered by Michonne who kept her zombified boyfriend and his friend in chains after cutting off their arms and jaws. The third known technique is Zombie skin. Similar to the guts technique, the user masks their smell, but by using zombie hides they skinned off and wearing them like clothing. While this is virtually the best out of the three when it comes to camouflage as it can't be washed off and doesn't leave you exposed, they can still be attacked by zombies if they draw attention to themselves. This technique is notably used by a group called the Whisperers. The Zombies of "Call of Duty" Zombies within the Call of Duty: Zombies Aether Story are the result of a human being exposed to Element 115, which kills and then reanimates their dead cells and brings them under the thrall of the Demonic Announcer. Unlike their counterparts within The Walking Dead universe, these zombies are much faster, stronger and slightly more intelligent. They are the main antagonists within the world of Call of Duty Zombies. Creation These zombies are created by Element 115, a powerful material planted by an ancient evil race known as the Apothicons in order to corrupt and consume universes. Physical exposure to the element, either prolonged or through an open wound, will reanimate any and all dead tissue (if the subject is already alive, it will kill them first before reanimating them). This results in a near-mindless zombie that can be somewhat controlled, either through conditioning or through the Aether, a dimension below creation which can be accessed from the Aether Pyramid on the Moon. Zombie Variants While zombies exhibit a variety of features and behaviors depending on their location, some formerly-human undead prove to be an almost entirely different monster. There are even some that were not human to begin with. The zombie variants include: *Hellhounds *Crawler Zombies *Space Monkeys *Shrieker Zombies *Napalm Zombies *Frostbite Zombies Physiology Like their walker counterparts within The Walking Dead universe, these zombies sport various stages of decay, depending on when and how they died and how long they have been dead for. Pale bones often show through the decay; others may have dislocated jaws and their body parts are ripped apart, exposing the skeleton and organs of their body, such as intestines. Their most prominent feature is their glowing eyes, which make them more distinguishable from their Walking Dead counterparts. The colour of their eyes depends on whoever is controlling them through the Aether at the time. For example, their eyes are currently yellow, which means that Samantha Maxis is in control. The zombies' appearances also depends on the nationalities they originated from. For example, the zombies seen in the Ultimis segments in All That Remains were either World War Two German soldiers or Group 935 scientists. Another example is in Amid The Ruins, where the zombies were seen wearing Civil War-era military uniforms. Speed The zombies have varying speeds and movements, ranging from a slow, shambolic stumble to a human-like sprint. Behavior Much like the voodoo zombie, these zombies can somewhat be controlled, either through conditioning or through the Aether via the M.P.D. Without the influence from an entity within the Aether, zombies act autonomously and are incredibly aggressive to all non-zombified beings. But when under etheric influence, the Element 115 empowering the zombies allows them to act as a collective hive-mind and can attack specific targets and act with a small amount of co-ordination. This makes them more dangerous than their slower and less intelligent counterparts within The Walking Dead. Disposal TBA. Intelligence TBA. Characters That Turned The following is a list of characters from The Walking Dead X Call of Duty Zombies that have all died and reanimated as a zombie. |-|Telltale's The Walking Dead= |-|Call of Duty Zombies= Prominent Victims The most notable characters killed by zombies are listed below. |-|Telltale's The Walking Dead= |-|Call of Duty Zombies= Trivia *A few of the zombies' voice clips were used as a sound effect for a Halloween decoration called "Possessed Wall Hanger".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmMW6PnbEvc References External Links *Zombies (Call of Duty Zombies) *Walkers (The Walking Dead) *http://call-of-duty-zombies-movie.wikia.com/wiki/Zombies Category:Browse Category:Walking Dead X Call of Duty Zombies Wikia Category:Undead Category:Antagonists Category:Zombie Variants Category:Call of Duty Zombies Characters Category:Characters Category:The Walking Dead Characters Category:Amputated Victims Category:Deceased Category:Groups Category:Season 1 Characters